


A shattered heart still beats

by Girlfromthemojave



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: AU, AU Game ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Loss, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Heartbreak, Loss of Control, Loss of Identity, Mentions of operation Sunburst, Never trust the NCR, One shot?, Poor Gabriella and poor Mojave BOs, Post Battle of The Hoover dam, Post game ending, Post-Betrayal, Sad with a Happy Ending, Self-Discovery, Semi Cannon Compliant, Survivor Guilt, The Legion isn’t in much better shape, The NCR betrays everyone, Waking cloud is wise, Where there is life there is hope, broken but not dead, did this instead of sleeping, finding hope, history repeats itself, loss of home
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-13 06:14:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14743484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Girlfromthemojave/pseuds/Girlfromthemojave
Summary: As the remnants of the Mojave BOS including Scribe Schuler, Watkins and Veronica and Gabriella try to recover in Zion after being ruthlessly betrayed by the NCR after the NCR won the Hoover dam, Gabriella and Graham have a long talk about caesar and how to carry on even when all hope is lost.





	A shattered heart still beats

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure if this is going to stay a one shot...and I’m writing this half a sleep so yeah...

A shattered heart still beats...

“As I said before when we first met 18 months ago, Caesar is a man of his lies. He lived by his lies and died by his lies. His words and lies were a castle and-“

Gabriella paused mid stride and felt a flash of electricity shoot through her as The burned man’s words hit her ears.

“Forgive me Joshua but Caesar was a man of many things. A king, a ruler, a god to some...and even a best friend. Caesar, or Edward was many more things not all of those things were good. He was an egotistical maniac, a slaver, conquerer and a ruthless sociopath but of all of these things that he was, there was one thing he wasn’t!”

Gabriella said hotly as she spun around and found herself nose to chest with the Burned man.

“And you know what that one thing is? Do you Joshua?”

“No I don’t...”

“A liar...He was never a liar and you damn well know this! Don’t you?! Go head and give me an example where he didn’t keep his word!”

Joshua stared down at her, his gaze hardened as a bitterness poisoned his mouth and his body began to heat up and his lip drew into a tight line. But as much as he resented Caesar and what was done to him by the hands of once best friend, he knew he’d be the hypocrite and the liar if he didn’t admit that Gabriella was right...His once best friend and partner was many things but he was never a liar.

“I...”

Graham gritted his teeth, unable to force himself to say those words. He huffed and folded his arms into front of chest as he pulled his eyes away from Gabriella’s oxidized Copper Green ones.

“I knew! You talk a lot of shit on him but in the end you know that he isn’t all monstrous.”

Gabriella said sighing before she looked behind her, her heart audibly breaking at the sight of Linda comforting Watkins as the young woman sobbed uncontrollably.

“You’re right Though...and as much as it pains me to say that, Edward never was a lair. But he was partly responsible for why you and your family are here...incomplete and grieving.”

Gabriella jerked her head back in Graham’s direction, her lips pursed in irritation.

“Bullshit! Caesar had nothing to do with why we’re here! CAESAR WAS NOT THE ONE WHO BACKSTABBED US AND BLEW UP THE BUNKER! HE WAS NOT THE ONE WHO LIED AND PROMISED AN END TO THE LONG AND BLOOD WEST COAST BROTHERHOOD WAR WITH THE NCR! THEY WERE ONES WHO KILLED MY FAMILY ONCE AGAIN!JUST LIKE THEY DID 5 YEARS AGO AT HELIOS ONE!IT WAS THE NCR! NOT CAESAR!”

Gabriella shouted as angry and frustrated tears welled up in her eyes and poured down her cheeks, the scant chatter around her cane to an halt as the other stared at her.

“Is that so?”

Graham egged on, encouraging her to vent and to let her emotions go.

“DAMN FUCKING STRAIGHT! CAESAR KEPT WORD WHEN HE SWORE HE WOULD NOT INTERFERE WITH BROTHERHOOD’S ALLIANCE WITH THE NCR AND THAT OPTION FOR AN ALLIANCE BETWEEN THE BROTHERHOOD AND LEGION WOULD BE WELCOME EVEN AFTER THE WAR! CAESAR KEPT HE PROMISE TO ME THAT HE WOULD LET ME GO HOME IF I ASSISTED THE LEGION! But...”

Gabriella heaved as her body shook and trembled with anguish and Rage.

“ but what Gabriella ?”

“But he never promised there would be a home to back to...He never promised that the NCR wouldn’t betray us...because that wasn’t his promise to make. He was always a man of his word.”

Gabriella hiccuped and took a step forward but her knees gave out from under her and sent her toppling forward propelling towards the ground but Graham reached forward and pulled her into the safety of his chest.

“What will you do now?”

Graham whispered as Her tears saturated his bandages,

“I don’t know....honestly I have not a fucking clue. I can’t even think of what to do next...I can’t help anyone not even-“

“If you finish that sentence you’ll be a liar...and in my heart I believe that you are many things Gabriella but a liar is not of them.”

Gabriella sniffled and took a deep breath before lifting her head and looked up into the Ice blue eyes that were Joshua’s.

“As comforting as it it to hear that from someone like you, it’s hard to to believe that. I’m just a Paladin...”

“Even the mightiest oak was once a sapling...”

A soft female voice said as a gentle hand was placed on Gabriella’s shoulder.

“walking cloud.”

Gabriella smiled and pulled her self away from Graham’s chest and eagerly hugged waking cloud in a warm embrace.

“You don’t have to have a label to be something. If anything labels limit you, if you label yourself as something you unknowingly limit yourself to fit that label. You were a paladin...but you are now capable of so much more.”

Graham said as he looked at the handful of remaining Mojave brotherhood members before turning back to Gabriella and Waking cloud.

“Joshua is right Gabriella...You are no longer a paladin.”

“Then what am I? I haven’t done anything beyond my paladin duties!”

Waking cloud snickered and shook her head.

“You have done so much more than you realize...You are humble is the word as the English call it. You have lead your people to safety and kept them alive and even managed to save some of your technology...You are a leader.”

Gabriella felt her eyes widen as she realized that Waking cloud was right, without even thinking about she had lead her devastated and broken family to safety and even tried to give them some semblance of normalcy by delegating out task and had even managed to grab the most important pieces of technology and the CODEX drive before fleeing to Zion.

“I’m the elder now....”

“If you insist on using that title and labeling yourself then yes you’re their elder now. A very fitting title if you ask me.”

Graham said he wiped the remain tears from Gabriella’s eyes and face before he let out a soft sigh and gave her a soft knowing look.

“So what now?”

Graham asked once again this time he got a much more upbeat response.

“I guess..try to find Inculta and maybe...Get ahold of the other brotherhood chapters. But first I’ll have to find a communications board and a working radio tower...that’s a lot of work.”

Gabriella sighed and ran her fingers through her hair,

“There’s a old radio tower around here. And you’re not alone, you’re never alone.”

Graham said as he took a step towards Gabriella and motioned with his in the direction of the Mojave brotherhood remnants.

“They maybe broken and hurt but even the broken paddle will push the canoe up stream.”

Waking cloud said as she put a hand on Gabriella’s shoulder and in return she received a smile full of hope.

“You know you’re right! We maybe broken and we maybe lost but we’re still here!”

“And that’s why we say Ad Victoriam!”

Veronica chirped as she walked up to the campsite with a crate of loot in her arms.

“To victory... and to steel.”

Gabriella said softly as she helped her teammate set the crate down before approaching the Brotherhood remnants and taking a step forward to healing and to a brighter future.

 

 

 


End file.
